Tenerife will experience an exceptional day on Friday, 12 June. Pope Leo XIV will arrive on the island that morning from Gran Canaria, where he will conclude his brief visit to the Canary Islands. It is a historic moment: for the first time, a pope will set foot on the archipelago. At the same time, this is not an ordinary ceremonial visit, as the focus will be clearly on migration, accommodation and integration.
Major impact on mobility
According to the planned schedule, the pope will land on Tenerife at around 9:10 a.m. He will then travel to the Las RaÃces support centre, a place that has often been in the news in recent years because of the accommodation of migrants. At 10:10 a.m., a meeting is scheduled in Plaza del Cristo in La Laguna with people who are trying to rebuild their lives in the Canary Islands.
Later, the pope will continue to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where he will travel through several streets in the popemobile. At 12:15 p.m., Mass will begin in the port of the capital. This will be followed by the official farewell ceremony at Tenerife Norte-Los Rodeos airport, after which the plane will depart for Rome.
The arrival of Leo XIV will have major consequences for mobility. The Dirección General de Tráfico is asking residents and visitors to make only essential journeys on 12 June. On Tenerife, dynamic road closures are expected at various times on, among others, the TF-5, TF-24, TF-13, TF-152 and TF-235. The TF-4 near Santa Cruz will also be subject to restrictions. These closures will move along with the official convoy and may therefore last longer or shorter than initially planned.
Planning medical appointments is important
Everyday life will also be adjusted. On Tenerife, classes will be suspended that day. The measure is intended to reduce the number of journeys and give the security services more room to operate.
For those who need to travel to Santa Cruz or La Laguna, public transport is recommended. Tenerife will provide extra capacity: more than 12,000 additional places on the buses, known locally as guaguas, and double trams on Line 1, running at a high frequency. In addition, a special fare of one euro per journey will apply that day for passengers without a travel pass.
For older readers in particular, planning is important. Anyone with a medical appointment would be wise to check in advance whether the time or format of the appointment has changed. Health services will continue to operate, but in affected areas more consultations will be handled by telephone, and some appointments or rehabilitation transport may be rescheduled.
Traffic arrangements around Santa Cruz and the port will also be different, making driving through the area and parking more difficult.
The best advice is simple: avoid using the car, leave early if you must travel, take water with you and follow only official information. For believers, it will be a unique day; for everyone else, it will mainly be a day on which Tenerife will be slower, busier and more strictly regulated than usual.
Photo: AI ChatGPT
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